A catastrophic fire on 29th December 1986 at No. 26 St Peter's Street gave the Trust the opportunity to examine quite thoroughly the surviving timber frame. A record had been made in 1978 of certain parts of the frame, at that time undergoing refurbishment. Many of the problems encountered during this initial work have been resolved during the course of the new survey.

A two-bay structure, set at right angles to the street, forms the core of the existing building which dates from the fifteenth century. Around 1600 this structure was extended to the rear and the area immediately to the east of the frontage was redeveloped. This new work possibly replaced an earlier medieval element associated with the two-bay structure. At this time the front part of the medieval roof was dismantled and moved towards the rear to allow a continuous pitched roof across new and old work. parallel to the street. From evidence uncovered around the junction of old and new work it is quite clear that the external walls were treated with close studding and up-to-date fenestration. Remains of three doorways survive in the ground floor partitions, which are to be associated with the introduction of a chimney stack.